December 5 update:
According to OpenAI, the new research unit in Zurich will initially focus on multimodal research for AI systems that can "understand and combine different types of information like text, images, and sound to complete tasks more effectively." The company says this work is essential for its broader goal of developing artificial general intelligence.
Original article from December 4:
OpenAI has recruited three researchers from Google DeepMind who specialize in multimodal AI: Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai. The trio has worked together in recent years, making progress in computer vision model scaling and developing the Vision Transformer (ViT) architecture. OpenAI plans to put their expertise to use developing technologies that can process multiple types of data and handle complex interactions. The company is setting up a new office in Zurich as part of this effort, adding to its existing European locations in Dublin, London, Paris, and Brussels. The company still says its goal is to "develop artificial general intelligence that benefits everyone."
